Task Force: Innovations in post-harvest treatments against rice and legume weevils
- Type Operational group
- Execution 2018 -2020
- Assigned Budget 11.809,00 €
- Scope Autonómico
- Autonomous community Cataluña
- Main source of financing PEPAC 2014-2020
- Project website https://ruralcat.gencat.cat/documents/20181/5394834/INICIAL+PILOT+GO+2017_009_A…
Description
The project aims to take an important step toward reducing the risk of insect development in post-harvest rice by using a physical technology that leaves no residue.
The technology being developed is based on the industrial application of dielectric heating to eliminate insect pests in cereals and/or other grains. Dielectric heating more easily raises the temperature of insect larvae developing inside the grains.
This allows pests to be eliminated without altering the properties of the grain, with moderate energy consumption, and thus avoiding the prevalence of pesticides in the final product.
Objectives
- Validate breeding systems for the insects of interest (Sitophilus oryzae, Oryzaephilus surinamensis, and Tribolium confusum) to obtain a sufficient number of eggs, larvae, and adults to evaluate the effectiveness of the treatments.
- Assessment of the degree of infestation in the products in order to define the treatment intensities necessary to guarantee product stability.
- Conduct preliminary microwave insect destruction tests and build mathematical models to predict the effect of microwaves on the survival of the three species of interest.
- Conduct insect elimination tests on the radio-frequency pilot prototype to determine effectiveness, including treatment penetration tests, and construct mathematical models to predict the effect of microwaves on the survival of the three species of interest.
- Physicochemical and sensory evaluation of the changes that radiofrequency treatments can produce in rice.
- Define the specifications and technical requirements that the RF equipment to be developed must meet.
- Disseminate the results and develop proposals for the exploitation of the technology and products developed.
Contact information
- Coordinator/entity name: Arrossaires del Delta de L'Ebre Secció de Crèdit SCCL
- Coordinator/entity email: cfo@nomenfoods.com
Beneficiaries
- NOMEN FOODS, SL
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